SeaWorld continues downward spiral

It looks like more and more people are saying no to SeaWorld and captivity.

In 2016 attendance was down by 471,000 (2.1%) and revenues and share prices are going down, with the company actually suffering a loss of $12.5 million for the calendar year 2016. This is the first year they've been unprofitable in a long time.

Also, in just talking to people, I'm starting to get the impression that people now consider SeaWorld to be an unethical company. This also extends to MarineLand here in Canada too.

Is anyone else picking up that vibe?

What prompted this for me was finding out recently that when Dawn Brancheau was attacked by Tilikum at SeaWorld in Orlando, SeaWorld held off calling 911 for 27 minutes so they could hustle witnesses out of the stadium before law enforcement and ambulance workers arrived. They also used the delay to move workers who they knew would have to be interviewed by sheriffs to another area, plus one tourist who was from overseas (The Netherlands) as the "member of the public" witness; who they know would leave the country and be hard for investigators to follow up on. By the time the sheriffs got there the American tourists were gone from the stadium, and SeaWorld never offered to show the guest book or any other information to the sheriffs so they could find other members of the public who had seen the incident.

I remember going to Seaworld when I was very small, before I knew anything about all of the various controversies. Even saw Tili perform - I have to be honest, even then, I got quite upset. I wanted to 'pet the dolphins' like they did in the commercials but I just remember the whole pool swamped with kids, hands splashing, and some poor dolphins just hiding in the centre, far away. I certainly didn't want to go to Seaworld again after that. Not sure how they run things now, but that was my experience.

I think zoos and things like seaworld have an inevitable decline. Unless they can all reach a standard of welfare that is just, and preserving, it's not going to last long. Some have it much better now but others have a long way to go - I think Seaworld had it's heart in the right place but they just can't justify the orcas being there, to be honest. It's sad because I believe the trainers really do love the animals